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Are CEO’s Illegally Pressuring Workers to Support Republicans in the Ohio Supreme Court Election?
10.6.2020
New reporting from Cleveland.com has found that the Ohio Business Roundtable, a group of some of the largest companies in Ohio, has encouraged CEO’s to send letters to their employees pressuring them to vote for Republicans in the Ohio Supreme Court election. The letters go so far as to tie the employees’ “job security” to the outcome of the races. As Cleveland.com reports:
The Ohio Business Roundtable’s suggested email campaign ties people’s employment to the results of the Supreme Court election.
“You value stability in your job, just as we value stability in our business,” says email No. 3, which the business roundtable suggested CEOs send to their employees on Sept. 28.
“When our justices do that job well, our economy is stronger and our job security is greater,” says email No. 7, which is supposed to be sent out Oct. 28. “It’s just that simple.”
This communication may violate Ohio law. Ohio Revised Code 3599.05, which states:
No employer or his agent or a corporation shall print or authorize to be printed upon any pay envelopes any statements intended or calculated to influence the political action of his or its employees; or post or exhibit in the establishment or anywhere in or about the establishment any posters, placards, or hand bills containing any threat, notice, or information that if any particular candidate is elected or defeated work in the establishment will cease in whole or in part, or other threats expressed or implied, intended to influence the political opinions or votes of his or its employees.
“It is difficult to see this as anything else other than an attempt to pressure employees to support Justices French and Kennedy, who have a long track record of looking out for corporate special interests over everyday Ohioans,” said ProgressOhio Managing Director Michael McGovern. “We deserve to know whether Justices French and Kennedy support these threats.”
The Ohio Business Roundtable’s full membership can be found here. Which of these companies have pressured their workers? Do they support OBTR’s campaign to pressure Ohio workers to support Republican candidates?
